[ensuppono]

Since I haven't heard from "Pankeeeeke", here's this week SOTW.
Share your Carbon thoughts here!

[gamecasta]

Ooh, I shall post my thoughts on this one later, but I know someone who will be thrilled to comment on this song.

[trilochana.nejman]

While I liked SW as a whole instantly, it took a few years for this song to stand out. I remember when it did too. I was having to drive for work to the middle of nowhere and it came on and it just struck me finally as being exceptionally good and listening to it on repeat. I had to do that same drive a lot, through some fairly desolate countryside, so I always picture it when I listen to it. To me, it's one of the last of her truly excellent lyrical works with lots of imagery and non-punny plays on words.

[anfuckinggs]

I really loved the fan made remix of Carbon called the Gunners Remix. I looked for it on youtube, but could not find it there.

Anywho, great lyrics in the song, and I love it, but it's not one of my favorites on Scarlet's Walk.

[lizadax]

Ok. THIS is my favorite Tori Amos song. Ever. Número Uno for me.

Ever since this song clicked with me, there was no turning back. I remember when I first got Scarlet's Walk, I wasn't that much of a fan of it (it is now my favorite TA album, go figure...), it sounded very samey to me, therefore I overlooked this masterpiece in the first few spins.

So on to the song... the way it starts it's just magical. Those "random" piano chords then followed by what sounds like random drums, it does sound like a jam is about to begin, but then it all comes together in what I would call a perfect intricate sound. Tori's piano playing is just top notch, I'm sure she even knows this as she seems to have tried to replicate this sound on her later albums (Barons of Suburbia, Beauty of Speed, Curtain Call, etc...). So yeah, music wise this song is pure, pure awesomeness. Matt's drumming is out of this world, in fact this is, for me, Tori Amos's band biggest achievement. I don't have much of a music theory knowledge, but from what I've heard from some friends who know about music structure and tempos, this song is genius. I am convinced it is.

The lyrics are full of poetry. Tori's best analogies. At first they're hard to decipher, but when you figure out what the train of thought was for Tori when writting these lyrics, it all unwraps and it becomes clear how well-thought the words and phrases are. I am so glad Tori didn't mess this song up with some trite lyrics. I could go on and on about the lyrics here and how amazing they are.

I have to thank a good friend from here for showing me a remastered version of this song. It is even better than the one on the CD (hey send it to me!). Well, I guess that's it for now, this song means a lot to me, so I can't even express it with words without sounding stupid.

Oh, just one more thing... TEH BREATH AFTER THE PAUSE!!!!

[soonahonsefalh]

^^ Yes, thats one of my favorite moments! It's so intense and desperate. I really believe it's life or death when she says "get me neil on the line, no I can't hold" - it's a sad desperation though. Having an older sister with severe bipolar disorder, its heartbreaking for me when she sings "little sis you must crack this, you must go in again." I think we all also know people in our lives who are carbon made and "only want to be unmade" either through suicide/death, change, or relationships.

[wrewsTear]

Though Carbon isn't a "go-to" song for me very often, I feel that it is one of Tori's best-written songs. The way the form and the content emerge so you get the highs and lows of bipolar is perfect, especially the idea to set it against the snow and use the skiing to further the metaphor. Live, I really love the ferocity with which she sometimes sings "get me Neil on the line / no I can't hold." I loved hearing this song with the band in 2009 since the solo performances often strike me as being a bit dragged out for my tastes.

[Suvaxal]

I don't quite get the imagery of Carbon. I know it's all cold and snow and ice, but it doesn't feel a cold song to me.

[anfuckinggs]

I guess because it sounds so busy.